Pregame running under the basket...
 

question from an referee colleague. .."Where is the rule concerning running under the opponents basket before the game" Is this a fed rule or could I be thinking of a state guideline...I'm thinking somewhere I remember reading about direct path to your side of court which could be interpreted as the above...I'm digging in the book right now but if anyone knows please point me in the right direction

Not in the book, I don't think. Check state listings.

OK, I'm not seeing it either. Thanks. Any MO officials know?

Sorry for answering my own question...

Found it in our basketball manual that governs state play:

9. Assignment of each team’s bench and pre-game warm-up basket is to be predetermined by the tournament
manager/committee and all teams notified in advance. The recommended procedure is to let the “home” team
for each game sit on the bench which the host school utilizes during the regular season and conduct their pregame
warm-up at the basket at the opposite end of the floor. Teams are to conduct pre-game and half-time
warm-up on their half of the floor only. If jogging or running is part of their warm-up drills, then it is to be confined
to their half of the court. Teams are to refrain from circling the entire floor when they enter the court to warm-up.
Teams leaving their locker rooms and entering the court are to proceed to their warm-up end of the court by the
most direct route and at no time are they to pass underneath their opponent’s basket. Officials are to enforce
this once their jurisdiction begins by rule by assessing the head coach a technical foul. Tournament managers
are to notify schools of this in advance and enforce it.
10. Participating teams are not permitted to warm-up at half-time of any games except the ones in which they are
playing.

Looks like tournament rules only?

I believe it is a State thing. In PA, no full court circle running is allowed. You are only allowed to run a circle around your own half of the court during warmup and halftime shooting. The other thing is during introductions, you are not allowed to gather around the center circle after introductions are done for your team. Fights have been known to break out during the race to the center circle. Most teams (as I've seen) now gather around the circle at the foul line.

Ditto for Va.
 

I've had to move several teams away from the center circle during pre-game introductions.

It is a State-based rule. In Ohio, such activity was automatically penalized by a technical foul for several years. This year, it is not automatic (I have not seen a single team do it), but can still be called if we view the activity as being a form of taunting or intimidating. Perhaps that concern serves as a deterent from the activity.

I'm also Missouri and I remember this being talked about at the rules meeting I believe 2 years ago.

The Land Of Steady Habits ...
 

This is the only limit we have here in Connecticut. It's from our high school athletics governing body:

Team members are not allowed to congregate at midcourt during introductions. Officials will direct players to free throw line area in front of respective benches.

Then Show Me ...
 

Isn't "Show Me" some kind of law in Missouri?

In WI starters are introduced visitors first and then home. They are required to stay on their sides of the court. No handshakes during introductions (they all do it before the opening jump).

Keith,
This ruling is not just for tournaments. It also applies to regular games. As mentioned by others, Missouri also wants the players to gather on their side of the court during introductions. No Midcourt gathering.

This was addressed by NFHS in the Points of Emphasis in 2002-03 and also in 2003-04. I knew I had read this in a rules book before and dug through my pile of older books and found it.

From 2002-2003 NFHS Rules Book:

3. Sporting Behavior -- Pre-game Situations

The committee discussed specific, inappropriate pre-game situations that must be stopped immediately. Coaches must demonstrate leadership by immediately putting an end to these practices. Officials must be prepared to stop these unsporting acts and penalize the offending team(s) if necessary.

Teams are deliberately running through or disrupting the opponent's pre-game warm-up. Teams are also competing for the center circle when entering the court or following player introductions.

• The state or local athletic conference should establish appropriate pre-game procedures and protocols. A policy could be established confining teams to their own free-throw semi-circle for pre-game huddles or rituals or that only the home team utilizes the center circle.
• Coaches should take an active role and establish guidelines for their teams and permit only those pre-game rituals that promote sporting behavior and cannot be interpreted as taunting or baiting the opponent.
• Officials should be prepared to assess a technical foul to a team member/team demonstrating these unsporting acts. The specific innappropriate actions of a few team members may be individually penalized or the entire team may be assessed one technical foul, if they collectively engage in any inappropriate behavior(s). Since all team members are considered bench personnel before the game and during intermissions, the head coach would also be charged indirectly with the techial foul (10-4-1d; 2-8-1).

So regardless if your state did as advised, we are to be prepared to penalize these unsporting acts.

Unilateral Decision ???
 

The NFHS Point of Emphasis is kind of ambiguous. One section states that state or local athletic conferences should establish appropriate pregame procedures and protocols. Another part states that officials must be prepared to stop these unsporting acts and penalize the offending teams if necessary.

I'd be careful about unilaterally penalizing a team for running around the entire perimeter of the gym, or some similar pregame activity, without the backing of your state high school athletics governing body, especially since this NFHS Point of Emphasis is no longer in the current rulebook.